[h=1]Evolution Explains Why Driveclub Was Delayed, Confirms PS+ Edition Contents[/h]
One main aspect of the game needed additional work.
PlayStation 4's racing game
Driveclub was originally going to be a launch title for the new console. When it was delayed weeks just before it was due, players were curious why Sony and Evolution Studios decided to postpone the release so late into development. The game's new director, Paul Rustchynsky, explains what the team has been up to since the delay.
According to Rustchynsky, there was "one important feature" that they needed to get right, and that's the dynamic menu. He explains:
The dynamic menu is key to how much fun you’re going to get out of the game because it is the glue that connects you to everyone else in the Driveclub community. Whenever you fire up the game; between every race you play, and when you log in to Driveclub on your phone or tablet, the dynamic menu has to be slick to ensure your experience is seamlessly connected. Essentially it’s where you discover what to play, and who to play with.
It’s also absolutely vital to our ambition of growing a vibrant network of millions of connected clubs, who all share the excitement of driving amazing cars together. Whether they play just to have fun, or to complete every challenge and beat their rivals in every race, it’s this connected community who will keep the game fresh and enjoyable well after launch, so it makes sense for the connectivity to be perfect.
No racing title has ever combined the development of a socially charged, multi-platform dynamic menu with all the other connected online elements that Driveclub delivers. We know that what we are creating here is hugely ambitious and we’re proud of the fact that we’re getting close now because we’re a relatively small studio. The progress we’re making is great, so I’m looking forward to showing you more as development continues and prove that all the hard work has been worth it.
While the dynamic menu is the main reason for the game's delay, other aspects of the title were also improved upon. That includes optimizing the visuals, creating "state of the art" audio, tuning the driving physics to make it accessible for players of all skill levels, and refining the difficulty curve of the campaign mode.
They also tweaked the number of players in clubs to accommodate the reworkings of the dynamic menu.
"We’re making it easier for you to keep up to speed with what’s going on in your club as part of the rework on the dynamic menus. We’ve also tweaked clubs to support up to 6 players instead of 12 (because the game is more fun with tightly-knit clubs and it paves the way for awesome 6-on-6 club races)."
For players concerned about the game's framerate, Rustchynsky said in a reply on the PlayStation Blog that the game will be locked at 30 fps.
"The most important thing for a racing game is a locked frame-rate – whether it’s 30fps or 60fps. It’s vital that every controller input you make is consistent and also equal for all drivers. We chose a locked frame-rate for this very reason and with 30fps we don’t have to hold back any of the obsessive visual detail in our game."
Rustchynsky also confirms that the PlayStation Plus edition of the game is still due for release alongside the full version of the game on October 7. It'll include 10 cars and features 1 country to race around. That means 5 tracks with up to 11 "distinct variants."
Source:
US PlayStation Blog,
EU PlayStation Blog
